A Milestone Broadcast
Amazon Prime Video’s inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race in San Diego delivered an average audience of 2.28 million viewers, marking a nine‑percent increase over the previous year’s event in Mexico City. The broadcast’s performance contributed to a broader upward trend, as all five Cup Series races on Prime averaged 2.29 million viewers, a six‑percent rise compared with 2025.
The race’s most intense moment arrived during the 6:15‑6:30 quarter hour, when viewership peaked at 1.372 million. This surge formed part of an 18‑race streak that has kept audiences above the one‑million‑viewer threshold, even when accounting for brief drops related to weather interruptions.
Demographic Shifts
Prime’s audience skews younger than traditional linear television, with a median viewer age of 57.7 years — five years lower than the median for broadcast viewers. This shift suggests that the sport is capturing a new generation of fans through its digital platform.
Pre‑race and post‑race programming also posted gains. The five NASCAR Live From pre‑race shows averaged 791,000 viewers, a five‑percent increase from the prior year, while the five post‑race shows drew roughly one million viewers, an eight‑percent rise.
Even the NASCAR O’Reilly Series race at NAS North Island contributed to the momentum, attracting 1.16 million viewers on the CW Network, up from 868,000 the previous year. The Truck Series race on FS1 drew 675,000 viewers, underscoring the breadth of the sport’s growing footprint across multiple platforms.